baby boy

Our sweet little boy is going to be here in only a few months and Mommy wants to check his room off the list of "to-do's."  As I expressed (regrettably) in a previous post, the room being incomplete stresses me out.  Well, guess who read that one...Yep BEN!  After feeling completely guilty (not knowing he was going to read it) and horrible (he has referred to the public "blasting" multiple times) I am blessed to say I am less stressed and thrilled as ever!!!!!  All we need is a few pictures above little man's crib and then obviously the mattress (which will be purchased this week).

Also in the VERY near future I plan to write a complete thank you posting for a wonderful, perfect husband that never ceases to amaze me.  I ask and he provides!! 

And let me add...He better read that one too....

Oh and some curtains ;)

summer rapid city visit

We had a great weekend in Rapid City.  My grandparents (Mom's parents), my Uncle and Aunt and Cousins came down to visit as well as attend the Antique Roadshow.  We had enjoyed spending some time outside, eating delicious food and catching up on life.

Great Grandma S.

Great Family Picture!!  I love how Keila and Madison match so well.  Not planned!!

Bubble fun!!!

Follow me Grandpa :)

We also spent time with the Stewart side of the family as well.  We are extremely blessed to be able to see all the family on just a short weekend.  Fishing in Custer State Park was the highlight.  Ben helped Madison and Ryan gold pan, which they actually did find a few flakes and also caught a few fish.  Grandma and Madison loved putting their feet in the water except for all those rocky areas...those can really hurt a girl's feet ;) 

Reaction to the fish Ryan caught.  So precious!

Madison just loves Ryan.  And Ryan is sweet to her.  Always singing with her or teaching her something.  For example, he taught her how to put up one finger in the car up to the fishing but Madison would put one finger up from each hand.  Ryan had to inform her that that was two and not one so she could only use one hand.  haha.  The conversation was priceless.

Gold Panning

The winnings!  And the plate may have blew away and we may have lost all the gold.  Ryan was not the happiest boy after that happened.  Who could blame him...All that money down the drain!!

This is downtown Rapid City.  They have these squirting waterfall things everyone.  Tons of kids were running around and playing in it.  The evening had beautiful weather and perfect company!

Ryan wanted in the water,  Matt didn't want to hear Ryan asking one more time but the rest of us are happy ;)

Our sweet nephews

head, shoulders, knees and toes

Madison is my smart little cookie.  As I mentioned in an earlier post she can say many words and make noises of many animals.  We can add an owl and tiger to that list as well.  She also loves to point out her body parts.  She has done her eyes, ears and head for about 4 months or so but we captured each moment while in Buena Vista.  She is just my cutie.  I could not be more proud!!

She can also do her toes, fingers, teeth and mouth.  And now she can point to other people's body parts.  The doctor said this is much more difficult of a concept for kids to grasp.  Okay, maybe I am just a bragging mother but she really did say that! 

"You ready Boo Bear!!"

Nose

Eye

Ear

Tummy

pop up adventure

We recently purchased a pop up camper (more pictures of the remodel to follow soon).  We have always loved the outdoors but with Madison sleeping in a tent is just no longer feasible.  Instead we sold our jet ski and trailer and but us a camper!

Our first adventure started in Buena Vista Colorado, deep in the Collegiate Peaks near Mt. Princeton.  The weather could have been better, cloudy and rainy but really, I loved the break from the heat.  The night got a little cold but we have a heater in the unit.  Wow...is this what people call camping now!  Haha!  Speaking of the lush, we visited a RV store to see what new gadgets we may need and the RVs were crazy!  I mean the wood work was better than in my own house.  I did not even feel like I was in an RV!  Amazing what they have these days for a small payment of $75,000!!!

Anyway.  We still enjoyed the outdoors.  Did a little hiking and some fishing.  Enjoyed the beautiful scenery.  We actually switched locations for the second night and stayed more at a camping facility.  The amenities, ie a bathroom, were there which is always nice.  We loved every minute of it and cant wait for the upcoming weekends to enjoyed the beautiful CO!

The mountains are actually behind that thick fog

Buena Vista

You can sort of see the river behind us.  The rushing water was beautiful.  Madison enjoyed about 2 seconds with her toes in before she looked at me like, "Mommy this is freezing cold!"

Enjoying the near by park while Mommy enjoyed her favorite ice cream

And maybe Madison did as well

the sweetest moments

As a mother there are many moments that are unnoticed.  From something as little as wiping your daughters face to holding her until she falls asleep.  We do them because we love our children.  We do them because we want the very best for them, always.  Many of these moments you will never receive a thank you for and never would expect that either.  You wait.  You wait for the moment where you feel your child is showing you, the best way they can, how much they love you and appreciate that you are their mother. 

My moments came two days in a row.

Two days ago I was rocking Madison to sleep after a very long day.  She was a little crankier than usual and I was exhausted, I think just due to the pregnancy.  We spent the day finding activities to do, reading books and playing fun games (like chase the baby around the house).  At the end of the day I gently wrapped her up and started rocking her.  She looked up at me, as she regularly does, spit her pacifier out, which she never does, and puckers her lips for a kiss.  Just even typing this, I am flooded with overwhelming love for this little lady.  I instantly started crying and she gently touched my face.  In that moment, life was perfect.  Nothing else mattered.  My daughter was saying, "I love you Mommy."  What else could I ever ask for!!

Then day two....

My sweet girl and I have a saying, "Be gentle to Mommy."  She will gently stroke my cheeks which then typically leads to some hitting but we just keep saying to be gentle.  Again.  Such a sweet gesture.  Today instead of becoming the crazy hands, she gently put my cheeks in her hands, tilted my head done and kissed my nose. The flood of tears came and my love for this beautiful baby grew.  I didn't think it was possible but my heart just got a few inches larger.

I feel incredibly blessed to have such a beautiful, sweet, loving and happy girl.  Madison you are Mommy and Daddy's everything.  We love you.

4th of july

4th of July was a quiet one at the Stewart's this year.  Most of the time we try and travel back to Rapid City but with the holiday landing in the middle of the week and us going there 2 weeks later we stayed home. 

The weather has been scorching, as most of you have been feeling as well, so we turned on the faucet (which some how is way better than the water play mat) and we enjoyed some cooling off.  Licking the water up was a favorite.  As many of you remember, she did this last summer but was much littler.  Fun how times have changed! 

Ben has been working on a deck for a guy he works with and most of his 4th was spent doing that.  Madison and I had our water fight while Daddy was sweating in the 100 degree heat all day.  He was able to get home just in time for us to play with a few sparklers before bedtime.  Yes, technically there were not suppose to be any flames but we stayed near the fire pit and only did a couple. ;) Ben just could not give it up 100%.  Best compromise.

Our new pond.  The black pole is actually a fountain.  The finished product really looks nice.

I finally changed Madison into her swimsuit because she was basically soaked head to toe.  Right now she is very into cleaning.  She grabs rags or wipes all the time and I find her cleaning her babies to the dining room chairs.  Apparently today the retaining wall needed a good scrub.

She enjoyed the sparks for one minute but then was leary the next.

My sweet girl!  She is such a happy one!!!

life stressors

1.) We don't have a name.  We don't have a name.  We don't have a name.  We don't have a name.  We don't have a name.  We don't have a name.  We don't have a name.  We don't have a name.  We don't have a name.  We don't have a name.  We don't have a name.  We don't have a name.

As much as I have made that look like I am stressed about it, it is at the bottom of my list actually.  Other people seem to be very stressed that this name business is not happening but Madison was decided on minutes before she entered the world and expect just the same for our little man (Bob, John, Matthew, or whatever other name)  ;)


2.)  The baby's room is not near completion

Yes!  This stresses me out!  I need to start organizing clothes (immediately) and seeing what sizes we need.  I mean how can a girl properly dress a handsome young man when I have two large piles of clean clothes, on the hangers ready for the remodeled closet!!!  Yes, Ben is in charge of this and Yes, he has twenty projects (at least) on his plate right now.  Mommy is about to nest and poop may hit the fan (we no longer use profanity in our home! hehe).

3.)  My house is just NEVER as clean as I want it to be. 

This sums it all up:

Enough about the negative....The positive!

1.)  I have a handsome boy inside of me.  He loves to twirl and kick and stretch.  Always positive confirmation that he is doing well.

2.) My sweet girl is 17 months and loves her Mommy and Daddy.  Hugs and kisses come frequently.

3.) I have the best husband in the world.  Really!  He is caring, kind, loving and always there for his family.

my big girl

"The most precious gift from Heaven above is the gift of a daughter for a mother to love." ~ Author Unknown

"My finger may be tiny but I can still wrap my daddy around it." ~ Author Unknown

Our little girl has brought such joy and laughter to our home.  Our expectations of this parenting journey have far been exceeded in the most amazing ways.  Ben and I talk about Madison every night before we go to bed, reliving those small moments in our every day lives that bring such happiness to each passing day.

Madison is growing up and with that comes bigger smiles, flailing tantrums and energy that never ceases to amaze us.  Here are just a few of the wonders of our baby girl.

Words She Can Say (In order of when she said them):

~ Bird, Boat, Papa, Boo, Bear, Momma, Dadda, Ah Ooooh, Bye Bye, All Done, Hi, All Gone, Duck, Hot & Tee

Sounds She Can Make:

~ Vroom, Ta Ta (when sounding out the letter T)

Animals She Knows the Sounds of:

~ Cow (Moooooo), Bear (Rarrrrrrrrr), Puppy (Woof, Woof), Sheep (Baa Baa)


Wow, really, where does time go.  I can not imagine what even 1 month is going to bring.  Next thing I know she is going to be driving!!! 

This is the "I don't know" shrug Daddy taught her